Olympus' Fall
by Satsu-chan
Summary: What if Percy and the demigods lost against the Titans? What would be left of our heroes? Would they be able to survive the new era and restore things back to how they were before? AU, Percabeth
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my 1st PJO fanfic, please R&R. Constructive criticism appreciated!!

Disclaimer: I am flattered that you asked, but no, unfortunately, I do not own PJO, otherwise, I would not be writing fanfics for the series (this is my disclaimer for the whole story).

* I also do not own any of the songs/ lyrics that I may chose!

_---_

_I fought a war to walk a gang plank_  
_Into a life I left behind_  
_Windows leading to the past_  
_Think it's time I broke some glass_  
_Get this history off my mind_

_And what if we were married forever?_  
_Like the past never happened_  
_And time did not exist for us at all_  
_I still think we'd still be traveling together_  
_Through all kinds of weather_  
_Everything's a piece of everyone_

_As far as I can see_  
_Walls are caving in_  
_Doors got locked for sure_  
_But I see these doors have keys_

_~Jack's Mannequin – Caves_

---

It has been three years since Olympus' defeat. Many things have changed since that day…

The gods on Olympus are no more. The ones that remain are enslaved by the titans, some have disappeared completely. The whereabouts of some of the gods are unbeknownst. Zeus is forced to carry Atlas' burden, the weight of the world. Oceanus has once again regained control of the sea. Poseidon is presumed dead, but nothing is ever certain in this new era. The same goes for the demigods, few are still left alive. And the ones that are, well, they are being hunted down by Kronos' minions…

---

Annabeth Chase landed on her feet, panting, with Nico di Angelo and Connor Stoll behind her. The three then took off through the alleyways of what used to be New York City. They managed to run about 100 feet or so until the building behind them exploded, sending shrapnel flying through the sky like missiles. She ducked and covered her head in an attempt to shield her body from the debris. When the smoggy smoke cleared, Annabeth shakily stood up, brushing herself off. She was bleeding from various scratches from the escapade, but was otherwise unscathed. Connor and Nico were the same. Suddenly, the screeching sound of sirens blared behind them.

"Come on! Let's go!" Annabeth shouted.

With Nico and Connor behind her, the trio once again resumed their mission. Annabeth turned a sharp right, trying to evade what she knew was coming behind her. New York, well, now it was known as New Titania, was a monstrous place to live (ha-ha). Life was not very pleasant for a small group of renegade demigods who were trying to destroy the new government.

After various twists and turns through the alleyways, Annabeth and company arrived at a decrepit old building in what used to be a hotel. If you gazed at it carefully, you could see that it was once a fine building, but it was now charred and a reminder of the Olympians' loss. They scurried around the back of the building, to where one side was covered by several wooden planks. Connor pushed them aside, revealing a dark hole, and the three of them entered their hideout.

Nico shone a flashlight that had been procured during one of their missions in the room. In the lobby of the hotel, there was a damp and musty aroma. You could hear rats scurrying around and see toppled and charred furniture. Connor walked behind the old concierge's desk and opened a door that led to the cellar. His hand fumbled for the wall and felt for a light switch. The light bulb made a buzzing noise and flickered on. They then proceeded to walk down the stairs.

The basement was the center of the few remaining demigod's headquarters. It was top secret. The hotel's basement was rather large, but only a small portion was used by the Demigods. A light bulb was hanging from the center of the room. The walls of the room were made of cement, which caused the basement to be perpetually cool. Pushed against one side of the wall was an ugly orange couch that had a hole in one of its corners and was leaking stuffing. It was hideous, but it served its purpose. Two girls, Thalia and Clarisse, were sitting in the room. Their heads snapped up from a conversation. They were seated on folding chairs at a rickety old table in the center of the room.

"Well," Thalia inquired, "How'd it go?"

"Great actually," Nico replied. "We lit up the place with Greek fire, causing an explosion as planned."

"I'm sure we'll hear all about it on the television, 'Crazed guerillas blow up government building!'" Connor exclaimed. Everyone laughed. The news was always broadcasting their evilness to the world along with a picture of the suspected criminals with a considerable reward sum posted at the bottom. But hey, that was just the way life was for the "ImPercinators," as their group was called. Clarisse coined the term after their friend Percy. No one really talked about him much anymore.

After the fall of Olympus, Kronos and his followers methodically went about New York incinerating all buildings where, supposedly, the Demigods and their defeated army were hiding. One of the buildings they burned was Percy's apartment complex. He had run in there to save his family, but never returned. That was almost three years ago.

Annabeth always got into one of her glum moods when she was reminded of Percy and the other fallen heroes; Travis Stoll, Malcolm, Percy, and many others. Basically, if you were not part of the ImPercinators, you were either dead, missing, or sucked into the new government. But, in her heart, Annabeth never gave up on the hopes of seeing Percy again. He was, as of this moment, her biggest, "What if?"

---

A/N: Soo…what did you guys think? A little gloomy huh? I actually sort of like it. Who's looking forward to the PJO movie? It looks pretty good, but what I don't understand is: why is Annabeth a brunette?? Please review w/ your thoughts on the story, my song choice, and the upcoming movie! ---


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Please R&R! Thanks!

---

_What would you say  
if I  
told you that all I've thought about  
is you  
since you been gone?  
I wish some way, some how  
I could turn this world right back around  
and mend mistakes I made._

_So I could say to you that  
I know things aren't quite like what they used to be  
different faces, different places yeah.  
We could try, oh yeah we could try._

_We Could Try ~ Between the Trees_

---

Annabeth splashed cold water on her face in the bathroom, sending a jolt to her system. As she gazed into the mirror, she realized how different she appeared. Now, at the age of nineteen, her face had lost all of its girlishness. Her visage looked haggard, with dark circles that resembled bruises beneath her eyes. Her face was scratched from her latest mission; it looked like she had gotten into a fight with an angry cat in a rosebush. Annabeth dipped a washcloth into the sink. She carefully pressed it against her face, wincing as she did. When finished, she hung up the washcloth and half-heartedly pulled her fingers through her tangled blonde hair. Sighing, she pushed open the bathroom door and returned to the main room.

"Annabeth?" Thalia inquired, looking up from a map. "Are you okay?"

She was clothed in a pair of faded, ripped jeans that needed washing and a tee-shirt with some little-known band's logo emblazoned on the front. Her blue eyes were penetrating. Thalia had that concerned look on her face again. Obviously, she could tell that Annabeth had been thinking of Percy again.

"I…I'm alright," was Annabeth's reply. It did her no good to dwell on the past.

---

_FLASHBACK_

_Annabeth stood with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She looked up to the smoldering sky in disbelief._

"_How can this be happening!?" she thought._

_Olympus, and the rest of New York, for that matter, was in flames. She had barely made it out of Olympus alive. All around her, people were running around screaming in terror and panic. But, in the distance, through the smoke, she could make out one figure in particular. A boy, with jet-black hair, was sprinting through the streets, pushing aside people in his wake._

"_Percy!" Annabeth shrieked. "Wait!" He didn't stop running until he reached a burning building, his apartment complex, with Annabeth right on his heels._

"_What are you doing?!" Annabeth yelled._

"_What do you think?! I have to save my mom and Paul!" he exclaimed._

"_Let me come with you!"_

"_No! I don't want you to get hurt." Percy reached for Annabeth's hand, but she pulled away from him. _

"_Please…" Annabeth trailed. But Percy just gazed at her sorrowfully with his vivid sea green eyes and entered the burning building…_

_END FLASHBACK_

_---_

"Are you sure you're alright?" Thalia asked again.

Annabeth snapped to attention. "I would feel better if we did something productive, like if we went on another mission or something."

"But we just did…you know that we have to lay low for a while, okay?"

"Yeah, I know." Annabeth was a little miffed. An awkward silence followed.

Fortunately, Nico, Connor, and Clarisse entered the room, followed by a girl with flaming red hair, Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"We have supplies," Clarisse announced. They were all carrying bags loaded with food, first aid supplies, and other necessities.

"Yeah, we filched the stuff from a Duane Reade up on Fifth," Connor proclaimed, with a doofy grin on his face.

Since Connor was a son of Hermes, his skill set was perfect for procuring necessary items. Not that they were proud of stealing things, but if anyone of the ImPercinators entered a public place, they had to be careful to avoid various monsters. So, occasionally, they broke into stores after hours.

Thalia rolled her eyes at Connor as she was unpacking the stolen goods. She was the unofficial leader of their rebel group, She fitted the part, so a tacit agreement was made amongst the sifted through all of the food. There was enough supplies to for a few months - if things were rationed. Their new life was not very easy at all.

---

Annabeth did not sleep well that night. She woke up extremely early, with a crick in her neck. She stretched and yawned in a very unladylike manner. There were no beds, only sleeping bags laid on the floor in one of the rooms adjacent to the common room area. To her left, Thalia was snoring quietly, her spiky black hair in disarray. Clarisse was asleep next to her, facing the wall. However, Rachel's sleeping bag was empty. Annabeth rolled her neck in an attempt to get rid of the cramp and went to find her.

In the main room, Rachel was sitting at the rickety table. Her head was bowed over her sketchbook, with her flaming tresses shielding her face from view like a fiery mantle. Rachel was so intent on her sketch that she didn't notice Annabeth approach. When she did, about a minute later, her head snapped up. Rachel blinked a couple of times, causing her eyes to refocus.

"Well?" Annabeth questioned. "What did you draw?"

Rachel's facial expression was alarming; her mouth was agape, and, with her eyes wide, she looked a little eccentric. She said nothing, but handed Annabeth her sketchbook.

On it was a picture of Percy.

---

A/N: Well? What did you guys think about my story so far? Let me know! Thanks for the reviews Legolas Thranduilion and pineconeface711! Please review with your theories, thoughts and concerns! I like to hear what you all have to say! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hmmm…I wonder what that picture of Percy means?? Read to find out!!

---

_Goodbye, my almost lover  
Goodbye, my hopeless dream  
I'm trying not to think about you  
Can't you just let me be?  
So long, my luckless romance  
My back is turned on you  
Should've known you'd bring me heartache  
Almost lovers always do_

_I cannot go to the ocean  
I cannot drive the streets at night  
I cannot wake up in the morning  
Without you on my mind  
So you're gone and I'm haunted…_

_Almost Lover ~ A Fine Frenzy_

---

_FLASHBACK_

"_Follow me," Percy said. "Hurry!"_

"_Ok…Where are we going?" Annabeth inquired. _

"_You'll see."_

_Percy then proceeded to jog down the streets of New York, with Riptide clenched in his hand in sword form. All around them, the once immaculate and pristine avenues of New York were aflame, causing Annabeth's eyes to sting and water from the billowy smoke. Blinking, with her arm covering her mouth, Annabeth followed him through the streets of New York._

_They travelled several blocks until Percy halted in front of a hotel, located in the Upper East Side. Clearly, the hotel had recently caught on fire, as there were numerous charred walls._

"_What on earth is this?" Annabeth grimaced._

_Percy walked around the side of the sad building until he reached a section of the hotel that was a little less burned. On one wall, there was a gaping hole which Percy entered, gesturing for Annabeth to follow him. _

_Annabeth entered through the hole and blinked as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer light. This was the lobby of the hotel; a once fancy hotel at that._

_"I found this hotel and it is obviously abandoned and not fit to live in, with one exception - the basement."_

"_Okay…" Annabeth said, "but why did you bring me here?"_

"_To protect you, obviously." Percy ignored Annabeth's annoyed face as she narrowed her eyes. He continued, "The titans are on the hunt Annabeth. They won't stop until they find and kill all of the surviving demigods. This is a safe haven. I want you to find everyone who is left and bring them here. Will you do that?"_

"_Why are you talking like this!?" Annabeth exclaimed._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You're talking as if …as if you know that you won't be coming back!"_

_Percy grimaced. "You know full well that the titans are hunting for me as we speak."_

"_Then we'll fight them together! Side by side!" Annabeth shouted, determined._

"_I can't make you any promises…" Percy turned and went back though the hole, leaving Annabeth dumfounded, standing in the ruins of something that once used to be whole…_

_END FLASHBACK_

_---_

Annabeth could not believe what she was seeing. Rachel's picture was definitely of Percy, but it was not easy to divulge where he was. In the picture, he was standing with his back against a stone wall. Percy's eyes were wide open, either in fear or shock. If he was afraid, then what was he afraid of? He was very grimy and exhausted looking. Annabeth sat at the table, carefully tracing his face with her index finger. She had to find him, and save him; maybe there was hope after all. If they had Percy back on their side, then maybe, just maybe, they could overcome the Titans.

Annabeth snapped to attention when she heard Rachel cough. "Ah, sorry," Annabeth muttered.

"It's okay."

"What made you draw this picture of Percy, Rachel?"

"Honestly…I don't really know." Annabeth's face fell. "I mean, I remember waking up really early. I felt was overcome by one of my visions, and I felt the urge to draw what I was seeing, and then, suddenly, you were standing by me and I snapped out of it…I'm sorry"

"No, no, it's fine," Annabeth said hurriedly, "I just wanted to ask you to see if I could piece together the meaning of this. Do you really think that…that he's alive?"

"I certainly hope so." Rachel blushed.

Annabeth looked away. Suddenly, she remembered that she wasn't the only one that harbored romantic feelings for Percy. Fortunately, Thalia and Clarisse entered the room, relieving the awkward silence.

"What's going on?" Thalia queried. She could sense the tension between Annabeth and Rachel.

"Rachel had a vision this morning," Annabeth explained, handing Thalia the drawing.

"Oh gods!" Thalia exclaimed with a little jump when she realized what she was looking at.

"What? What is it!?" Clarisse said, taking the paper from Thalia. Her mouth dropped open in shock as Nico and Connor walked in from their room.

Clarisse handed them the sketchbook. No one knew what to say.

---

"I think that Percy is alive!" Connor shouted.

The half bloods and Rachel were congregated in the main room, discussing what to do next.

"Maybe…but how on earth do we know where he is?" Thalia questioned. She had a point. Rachel's drawing did not really give anyone any hints as to the whereabouts of Percy.

No one said anything.

"Well…" Clarisse began, "We can't make any decisions without Grover and Chris. They should be back soon, right?"

"Yes, definitely," Nico answered.

Grover and Chris had gone on a scouting mission to see if they could locate any demigods or new recruits. They had been gone for almost a week now.

"Okay then, we will have this discussion later!" Thalia asserted.

With that, everyone dispersed. Nico, Clarisse, and Connor began to play spoons, a card game. However, there was an odd aura in the room; tension and, maybe, hope.

Annabeth chose not to partake in the game. Instead, she sat Indian style on the lumpy, ugly couch, contemplating Rachel's drawing, which was clutched in her hand.

"_Stone walls…_" she thought. They had a lot of those in Central Park, but that didn't seem to fit. Besides, the park was now a very dangerous place for them to be these days. It was full of gruesome monsters and spies. Since the mist had been lifted, there was a new social order as well. Monsters were the highest rank, especially the ones working for the Titans. People, satyrs, and various nymphs, et cetera, were basically scum and were viewed as inferior.

Nymphs. That reminded Annabeth of Juniper, who was a dryad. Her heart sank. In the days after the fall of Olympus, Camp Half-Blood was burned to the ground, along with the forest surrounding the camp, which once used to be their sanctuary. But it was nothing but ashes and cinders now. So much had happened in the last three years.

---

A/N: Thanks for the reviews ohsnapness, Athenas Daughter42898, Legolas Thranduilion, and CherubGurl96! Keep it up! Please review! ~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I believe that this chapter is a little bit longer haha. So, who saw the PJO movie this weekend?? Tell me what you guys thought about my chapter and the movie! Please R&R.

---

_The world carries on without you,  
but nothing remains the same.  
I'll be lost without you,  
until the last of days  
until the last of days._

_Through wars and harvest moons,_  
_I will wait for you._  
_The world carries on without you,_  
_but nothing remains the same._  
_I'll be lost without you_  
_until the last of days_  
_until the last of days._

_Last of Days ~ A Fine Frenzy_

---

Thalia was awakened by a bright light in the early hours of the morning. Dazed, she slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She then realized that she had fallen asleep on the ugly orange couch in the main room.

Squinting, she took in her surroundings. Standing in the middle of the room was three figures. Grover and Chris had returned, accompanied by a girl that Thalia did not recognize.

"Who's this?" she inquired.

Grover and Chris shared a knowing look. "It's Katie Gardner," Grover responded.

Katie looked fatigued, frail, and dirty, like she hadn't seen a shower in a while. Her head was bowed.

"Is she okay?" Thalia glanced at the boys.

"Um, we're not entirely sure yet," said Chris.

Thalia wasn't sure how to respond. "I'll go wake up the others. Chris, can you show Katie to the restroom so she can clean up?"

"Sure thing," he led Katie out of the room, with his hand on her shoulder. The poor girl seemed to be a shell of her former self.

---

When Katie was asleep in the girls' room, the ImPercinators gathered around the main room to discuss Katie's condition and Rachel's drawing.

"Where did you find Katie?" Nico asked Grover. Grover was leaning against the wall, clothed in blue jeans and a t-shirt. His satyr's horns were peeking out through his bushy brown hair.

"Chris and I found her sitting on a park bench in Central Park."

"She seemed dazed, and she didn't recognize us at all," Chris chimed in.

"How did you get her to come with you guys?" Clarisse asked. She was sitting on the couch, next to Chris, her boyfriend.

"We asked her if she would like food and a place to stay, and she said that she would like that very much," Chris answered.

"Chris and I didn't want to ask her many questions, so we really don't know much of anything yet. But I think that she has been through some kind of ordeal, although I have no idea what."

"I think that we should give her some space for a while, until we start asking her questions." Annabeth said.

"Agreed," replied Connor.

"Well?" Chris asked, "anything new for you guys?"

Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the kitchen table.

"I had a vision," Rachel answered. She had been quiet for the whole conversation.

"About what?" asked Grover.

"Percy," she replied.

Grover's mouth went slack. "What did you see?"

"That's the problem, I don't really remember, but I did draw this." She handed him her sketchbook.

Grover's brow furrowed when he examined the picture. "What does this mean?"

"We don't really know yet," admitted Nico.

"Have you had any contact with Percy through your empathy link yet?" questioned Thalia.

Grover shook his head. This was a frequently asked question but he hadn't felt Percy's presence in almost three years. Percy couldn't be dead, because then Grover would probably go with him, but, obviously, Grover was still standing.

Thalia's head snapped up when she heard the bedroom door open. Katie cautiously peered into the room. She looked a lot cleaner; there was some color in her face. She was clothed in a pair of Thalia's old and ripped blue jeans and a baggy t-shirt of Clarisse's that billowed around her small frame.

"Um…hi," she murmured to the group.

"You can come on in." Annabeth smiled at her encouragingly.

She stepped into the room, quietly closing the bedroom door behind her. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, nothing really…" Thalia said.

Katie's brow creased, obviously not believing them. "Okay…"

Connor shot a nervous glance to Nico. Connor and Katie had never really gotten along in the past, due to an incident involving chocolate Easter bunnies being placed on the roof of the Demeter cabin.

She walked over to the rickety table, where the sketchbook lay with Rachel's prophetic picture of Percy emblazoned on the front. When Katie looked at it, Thalia saw something click in her mind.

Katie let out a bloodcurdling scream.

---

Thalia sat on the ugly orange couch in the main room, rubbing her face with her hands. _"How have things gotten so messed up?" _she thought. Katie was in no condition to speak to anyone about anything at all. When she screamed, it sent shivers down Thalia's spine. Worse than that, she wouldn't stop shrieking. She had to be sedated by Connor and Chris. Currently, she was on sleeping pills, and passed out in the girls' room, where no one felt like entering. The only thing that Katie had proven to them so far was how unpredictable she could be.

Rachel emerged from the bathroom and walked over to where Thalia was slumped on the couch. "Are you okay?" she inquired.

"Ha, not particularly," Thalia responded.

Rachel cautiously placed her arm on Thalia's shoulder, "It'll be all right." Thalia peered up at her. She appeared so mature to Rachel, albeit she was a perpetual fifteen – year – old.

"I sure hope so," Thalia replied.

"Maybe you should get out of here for a while. You know, Katie can't keep wearing your Green Day t-shirts forever. Why don't you and Annabeth go get some decent clothes for her?"

Thalia chuckled. "You're right; getting out of here would do me some good. I'll go ask Annabeth if she wants to come with me." She stood up and knocked on the boys' dorm, where everyone else was.

"Come in!" Connor chimed.

Again, they were playing a card game. Silly games seemed to lighten the mood and provide a distraction.

"Hey Annabeth, do you want to come with me to get some clothes for Katie?"

"Sure," she replied, leaving the card game. Connor then proceeded to take her cards, which resulted in a scuffle amongst the boys of how the cards should be distributed amongst the remaining players. "Where would we go?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Goodwill maybe?"

"Okay, I'll go and get the wigs." Wigs were important for keeping their identities hidden from the public, who were bound to recognize them, since the demigods' faces were splashed all over "Wanted" posters.

Annabeth came out of storage carrying two wigs. She handed the long and wavy blonde one to Thalia, and stuffed her own hair under a shoulder-length brunette wig.

"Let's go." The now blonde Thalia grabbed a bag of drachmas and went up the stairs, out of the basement.

---

Annabeth squinted as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight. It was mid-afternoon in New Titania. The two girls walked side by side to the nearest subway station. They were headed to the Goodwill at East 23rd Street and Third Avenue.

Taking the subway was the best bet because monsters usually never rode on it. Annabeth supposed it was because they preferred higher forms of transportation. They purchased MetroCards in the station.

As they entered the waiting area, Thalia stiffened. There was a Cyclops sitting on one of the benches. He looked up when the girls entered the room and sniffed. Monsters could sense demigods. Annabeth looked worriedly at Thalia, who looked worriedly back at her.

"Just stay calm," she murmured to Annabeth.

Fortunately, the subway was coming into the station. When it screeched to a stop, the girls casually boarded the train, with the Cyclops entering a few people behind them. Thalia walked with urgency to the end of their car and pulled the door open. She carefully crossed over with her wig whipping in her face. She held it down with one hand, so it wouldn't fly off. Annabeth followed behind her.

"He's following us!" she whimpered.

The girls rushed through another car, until they reached the back end of the train.

"Crap." Thalia stated. "Are you ready?" she asked Annabeth.

She nodded her head faintly. Just then, the train halted, with the conductor announcing their stop. The girls bolted off of the train as fast as rockets.

Thalia pulled Annabeth by the hand into an alleyway. The Cyclops walked right past them. Annabeth let out a sigh of relief.

"I think he's gone." Thalia whispered. They waited a couple more minutes, just to make sure. "Let's go to Goodwill."

---

A/N: Loads of thanks to my beta, Kaleidoscope Flowers! And to my reviewers: Minaarocks, lunareclipse3, Karate Chic, PercyjacksonvsAres, TheAverageFan, Colorful Catastrophe, Bluechick13, Theia 47, and Kaleidoscope Flowers!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews! I like to read what you guys have to say! Also, if you have any lyric ideas, please feel free to PM with the lyrics and an explanation as to why you would think that they would fit into my story. Please R&R!

*CC greatly appreciated!

---

_Should've kissed you there__, Should've held your face.  
Should've watched those eyes instead of run in place.  
I should've called you out; I should've said your name.  
I should've turned around I should've looked again._

_But oh, I'm staring at the mess I made.  
I 'm staring at the mess I made,  
I 'm staring at the mess I made.  
As you turn, you take your heart and walk away._

_Mess I've Made ~ Parachute_

---

Annabeth and Thalia cautiously left their hiding place in the alley. Annabeth could still hear her heart pounding in her chest. She took deep breaths to calm herself down. The girls barely made it out of the subway station unscathed. It certainly wasn't a good thing that they had been spotted and followed by a Cyclops; he was most likely a spy for the Titans. Annabeth certainly didn't want to draw any more attention to herself or Thalia.

Thalia scoped out their surroundings to ensure that the coast was clear of all monsters. Satisfied, she gestured for Annabeth to follow her. The two girls walked up the street until they reached their destination; Goodwill.

It was a massive thrift store, filled with racks upon racks of clothing. Annabeth wasn't a very girly girl, and neither was Thalia. The job would more suited for someone like Silena Beauregard, a deceased daughter of Aphrodite. Annabeth felt her heart sink. Life was unfair sometimes.

"Okay," said Thalia, "Let's split and meet up at the registers in half an hour.

Annabeth let out a little giggle; Thalia always took everything so seriously, like she was planning a battle strategy.

"What?" asked Thalia.

"Oh nothing," answered Annabeth. "I'll meet you in thirty minutes."

With that, the girls split up. Thalia headed up the stairs. Annabeth decided to start with the racks in the back of the room and then work her way up to the front.

She rifled through various t-shirts with a frown on her face. Annabeth realized that neither she nor Thalia knew what Katie's size was. Annabeth supposed that it was very small; Katie was an awfully tiny girl.

Annabeth spent about ten minutes going through the shirt rack, successfully choosing a small slight v-neck yellow t-shirt; a long-sleeved green top, with a scoop-neck, for cooler weather; and a light blue tank top. She then moved onto the pants section. Annabeth opted for a faded pair of boot-cut jeans with fortunately no holes and a pair of cargo pants with multiple pockets. She also decided to select a belt, just in case the pants were a little too big on Katie's small frame. Annabeth glanced at the clock and realized that it was five minutes past Thalia's scheduled meeting time. Loading her arms up with clothes, Annabeth trudged to the registers.

She saw Thalia leaning against a wall, arms crossed, and tapping her foot impatiently. She had a basket laden with clothes lying at her feet. It would've made Annabeth's job a lot easier if she had remembered to grab a basket as well.

"There you are!" said Thalia. "Let's go through the stuff."

Annabeth showed Thalia her selections, who then showed Annabeth her selections. Annabeth was pleased to see that Thalia had refrained from choosing any punky fashions for Katie.

"Oh," said Annabeth, just realizing something.

"What?" asked Thalia.

Annabeth felt the heat rising to her face. "Um," she stammered embarrassedly. "We kindasorta forgot, um, _under things_."

Thalia blushed. "Oh, right. So," she looked up at Annabeth, who was much taller than her, "Do you want to get them? I'll go get in line and buy the other stuff."

"Alright, I'll do it." Annabeth said begrudgingly. She refolded her clothes and helped Thalia place them in her overflowing shopping basket.

Annabeth quickly walked to the ladies' section of Goodwill, head bowed. She had no idea how to do this. Blushing, Annabeth took an educated guess at Katie's size and grabbed various undergarments. She briskly walked back up the aisles of Goodwill to where Thalia was in the process of purchasing Katie's clothes.

"Oh, there you are!" she called to Annabeth. "These too," she said, taking the underwear from Annabeth and handing it to the checkout girl. When the total had been tallied up, Thalia paid in drachmas; these days, either dollars or drachmas were acceptable forms of currency. The checkout girl handed two bags with the purchased clothes to the girls.

"Let's go," said Thalia.

"I assume that we're not going to take the subway again," reasoned Annabeth.

"That would be correct," Thalia smiled, shaking her wrist to hear the clinking of her metal bracelet, a copy of Aegis.

When the girls entered the street, they came face to face with the Cyclops.

---

The ImPercinators, minus Thalia and Annabeth, were, once again, playing cards in the boys' room. There really wasn't any other source of entertainment. Spoons was their favorite game; they all got very competitive, since they played elimination. Seeing as plastic spoons were valuable, pens or other writing implements were used instead.

"Oh, come on!" shouted Clarisse. She was miffed due to her elimination. "No fair! I had the pen first!" She angrily shook her fist at Connor, who looked very pleased with himself. Clarisse rolled her eyes at him. "Fine, I'm gone, for now. I'll go check on Katie."

Clarisse huffed off towards the girls' room. When she reached the door, she hesitated; Katie made her feel a little uncomfortable. She quietly pushed it open. Her eyes scanned the room. All of the girls' sleeping bags were in the room, but Katie was gone.

"Oh, crap," Clarisse exclaimed, rushing back to the ImPercinators. She flung open the door, causing it to slam against the opposing wall, creating a bang. "Katie's not in the room!" she shouted, panicked.

"What?!" exclaimed Grover. "What do you mean?!"

"I mean that she's not here!" Clarisse screamed, hysterical.

Everyone scrambled to their feet. "Let's split up. Rachel, you and Nico stay here and search the basement, the entire basement!" Grover instructed. "Chris and I will search the hotel. Clarisse and Connor, look for her above ground, especially in Central Park!"

With that, everyone split up in a frenzied panic.

---

Katie Gardner opened her eyes. She was in the girls' room in a basement of some random hotel. The room was dim, with there being no windows. She sat up and looked around. The room was empty, except for her. She had to get out of here. Crawling out of her sleeping bag, Katie pressed her ear up against the door. She could hear muffled laughter and shouts, but not from the main room.

Katie found a pair of sneakers and slipped them on her feet. They were a little big, but they were only temporary. She silently eased the door open halfway, and stuck her head out. The main room was devoid of people. Katie let out a sigh of relief. She quietly left the girls' room and tiptoed to the stairs, her way out.

Connor let out a boisterous laugh in the other room. Katie blanched, frightened. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She could do this. She skittered through the main room, her feet as light as feathers. Katie climbed up the stairs and opened the door to freedom.

She briskly walked through the lobby of the decrepit hotel and pushed aside the wooden boards. She vaguely remembered entering the hotel there. When Katie emerged into the real world, she let out a sigh of relief.

Looking left and then right, Katie crossed the street. She was famished. Walking down the street, towards Central Park, she kept her eyes peeled until she saw a peanut vendor. She fished in the pocket of Thalia's blue jeans for loose change. She was successful; there were about five dollars and a few drachmas.

Katie purchased roasted peanuts and sat down on a park bench in Central Park. Within minutes, she had devoured them. Unfortunately, they weren't satisfying enough, but they would have to do for now.

Katie stood up, brushing off the crumbs from Thalia's Green Day shirt, and continued walking.

---

_FLASHBACK_

_Katie Gardner lay on the ground, writhing with pain. Above her, she heard sick, sinister laughter. Her eyes unfocused and her vision clouded. The stone ground was cold to the touch. _

_Katie felt a boot make contact with her abdomen. She screamed out in pain and whimpered. Katie violently coughed. She wiped her mouth, and, to her horror, her hand was streaked red._

_Her attacker turned on his heels and calmly strolled away. _

_Shaking, Katie lifted herself onto her knees and attempted to crawl away. She didn't get very far until her consciousness faded. _

_END FLASHBACK_

---

Clarisse and Connor rushed about the streets of New Titania, looking for Katie. They had been searching for nearly half an hour, but to no avail. Clarisse felt herself becoming more and more frustrated as the minutes ticked by.

"Let's head towards Central Park," she suggested to Connor.

He nodded his head in agreement. As they neared the park, they decided to ask various passersby if they had seen a slight, pale girl clothed in a Green Day t-shirt anywhere. All they got was dirty looks and people shaking their heads "no."

"Let's ask that peanut vendor," Connor lamely suggested, knowing that there was a fat chance that he had ever seen Katie.

"Alright," agreed Clarisse.

"Excuse me," said Connor politely, to the vendor, who was a middle-aged balding man. "Have you recently seen a skinny girl wearing blue jeans and a ratty t-shirt anywhere?"

The man scratched his head. "I think that I saw a girl like that. She bought peanuts from me. She looked really hungry."

Clarisse's face brightened. "Okay, thanks so much!" With that, the two demigods raced to the park entrance.

---

A/N: Once again, thanks to my beta Kaleidoscope Flowers and to my reviewers: Colorful Catastrophe, Lightning Titan, doodlechick12, iLoveSeaweedBrainAndWiseGirl, Happyfish, sweetyamiyugigirl, Karate Chic, Beat mo1327, I love sea green, and hpfangirl92!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Please R&R and feel free to CC me! Hope you enjoy it!

_---_

_The silence isn't so bad  
'Til I look at my hands and feel sad  
'Cause the spaces between my fingers  
Are right where yours fit perfectly_

_I'll find repose in new ways_  
_Though I haven't slept in two days_  
_'Cause cold nostalgia_  
_Chills me to the bone_

_But drenched in vanilla twilight_  
_I'll sit on the front porch all night_  
_Waist-deep in thought because_  
_When I think of you I don't feel so alone_

_I don't feel so alone, I don't feel so alone_

_Vanilla Twilight ~ Owl City_

_---_

_Percy raced throughout Olympus in a panicked frenzy. Everything as he knew it was falling apart. Literally. Grand stone columns were toppled over and Percy could hear people's moans and shrieks of pain around him. _

_He had to find Hestia. Earlier on, Percy had entrusted Pandora's Box to the goddess (but the box was more like a jar). In it was hope, the one thing that wasn't released when Pandora had opened it out of curiosity. Hope. The demigods needed that right now. _

_Percy had also asked Hestia to safeguard the __Ophiotaurus, a valuable sea cow whose entrails held the key to the Olympians' fate._

_Percy ran up a flight of stairs, two at a time. He began opening random doors, looking for a hearth with a flame in it. At last, he came upon a grand room, a bedroom of some sort, complete with a lush canopy bed and marble floors. There was a fireplace in the room with a weakly flickering fire in it._

"_Hestia!" he shouted._

_There was no response. Percy felt a feeling of dread course through him. The flame sputtered out. Where was Pandora's Box? And the __Ophiotaurus?__ He scoured the room, looking under the bed and in a massive bureau that was filled with intricately made dresses, but to no avail. Maybe Hestia had hidden them somewhere._

_Percy convinced himself that this was the only logical explanation. _

_As he was running out of the room, Percy slipped on a puddle of water, falling on his back. Slightly dazed, he sat up. The puddle led to the bathroom. Percy cautiously opened the door. There was a luxurious bathtub in the center of the bathroom that contained water. _

_Percy paled. The water __was tinted red with blood. _

_The Titans had beaten him to the Ophiotaurus._

---

The Cyclops was huge. It towered menacingly above Thalia and Annabeth. Clumsily, it swung its arms at them.

The girls ducked. Annabeth squeezed the handle of her Goodwill bag. She glanced at Thalia with a panicked look on her face. Thalia mouthed "run," and so Annabeth did, but not before Thalia pulled out her mace canister, the one that actually carried pepper spray, and squirted it in the Cyclops' eye. It emitted a pained shriek, clawing at its eyes.

Spinning around, the girls sprinted down 3rd Avenue with the half-blind Cyclops soon lumbering behind them.

They were an odd sight, two girls being chased by a Cyclops all running through the streets of New Titania. So much for not drawing attention to themselves.

Thalia mercilessly pushed through pedestrians, causing a domino effect of angry people. Annabeth looked behind her and witnessed several obscene hand gestures.

The Cyclops was still behind them, causing the angry people to run for cover. Thalia decided to run across the street through traffic. She nimbly dodged honking taxi cabs and other motor vehicles. The Cyclops was wiping cars aside, creating chaos. The girls reached the other side of the street to where a woman was climbing into a taxi cab. Thalia pushed her aside like a rag doll and climbed into the taxi.

"Sorry!" Annabeth shouted a lame apology to the angry woman, who was now shouting at the girls.

The cab lurched off as Annabeth struggled to close the door. Thalia shouted the cross streets near their hideout at the scared driver. Annabeth turned around in her seat. The girls had left behind bedlam; cars were splayed out at various angles, and a fire hydrant was releasing water like a fountain. The Cyclops grew smaller in the distance. Annabeth turned around and exhaled, relieved.

Somehow, she and Thalia had still managed to hold onto their Goodwill bags.

---

Connor and Clarisse couldn't find Katie. They had scoured every inch of Central Park, but had come up with nothing. Absolutely nothing. Clarisse was becoming frustrated.

"Maybe we should go back?" Connor suggested.

"Alright, let's call it quits for tonight," Clarisse sighed, acquiescing. She hated to give up, but the sun was starting to set. It would do no good to run around Central Park in darkness trying to look for someone who obviously didn't want to be found. Not to mention Central Park wasn't exactly the safest place to be at night.

"Well, maybe Katie was never in Central Park." Connor stated. "Just because we didn't find her doesn't mean no one else did."

"But what if she was, Connor?" Clarisse felt herself becoming annoyed. "Then what?"

Connor scratched his head, thinking. "Well, I don't know what to do, okay? Let's just go back."

Clarisse scowled, but angrily followed him out of the park. Defeated, the duo made their way back to their hideout.

---

Thalia clambered out of the taxi. She waited for Annabeth to pay their distressed driver with the remaining drachmas. Annabeth felt sorry for the poor guy, so she tipped him nicely. As soon as she shut the door, the taxi bolted away, the driver most likely relieved to be rid of the two "strange" girls.

The girls rushed up the street hurriedly, trying to get out of the streets. It probably wouldn't be long until their escapade would be broadcasted all over the evening news. The ImPercinators would have to lay low for a little while.

Thalia stormed ahead of Annabeth into their hideout. She was in one of her moods again. Thalia hated it when things went wrong, and they had certainly gone very wrong today indeed.

Thalia threw the basement door open. It slammed against the opposite wall. "Why are all of the lights off?!" she angrily exclaimed.

Annabeth didn't know and didn't answer. She knew from past experience that it was wise to give Thalia some space when she was angry. Annabeth quietly followed Thalia down the stairs.

It was strangely quiet, for when the girls left there had been a rowdy card game in the boys' room.

"Hello?" Annabeth called. There was no answer. "That's odd…"

"Why isn't anybody here?!" Thalia snapped.

"How would I know?" Annabeth replied, indignant. "Maybe we should check everywhere first before we jump to conclusions." With that, she turned sharply on her heels and went to inspect the girls' room. Of course, she returned with no one.

"I suppose there's nothing that we can do until everyone gets back, then." Thalia concluded in a huff.

With that, the girls sat in an awkward silence on the ugly couch. Thalia had her arms crossed and was tapping her foot impatiently on the ground. They waited for what seemed like hours, but in reality it was only about thirty minutes.

Finally, the girls heard footsteps on the stairs as Rachel, Nico, Grover and Chris came down the staircase.

Thalia bolted to her feet angrily. "Where have you guys been!?" she demanded. "You had us worried sick!" she yelled, gesturing to Annabeth.

"It's okay, Thalia," she murmured, trying to calm her down. "They're back now," Annabeth said, extremely relieved herself. She didn't particularly enjoy wondering where her friends were; it brought back unpleasant memories.

"Well?" snapped Thalia irritated. "Where have you guys been?" She glared at them.

Nico nudged Grover unwillingly forward with his elbow. Grover grunted, and sheepishly clasped his hands. "Um, we sort of . . . lost Katie," he answered quietly.

Thalia raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'lost'?"

"As in she's _gone_," said Nico.

Exasperated, Thalia threw her hands up in the air. "Oh gods, this has been just a fantabulous day then, hasn't it?" She kicked the Goodwill bag that had been dropped on the floor earlier and stormed off to the girls' room.

An awkward silence ensued. Annabeth looked at her feet, not knowing what to say. She noted that she desperately needed a new pair of sneakers.

"You know," said Rachel, breaking the silence. "Clarisse and Connor still aren't back yet, so they might have found Katie."

Annabeth's face brightened. "Well that's good news then, isn't it?" Everyone nodded in return.

With nothing more to be said, the group dispersed, making sure to steer clear of the girls' room.

Annabeth stooped down on the ground, and began to pick up the clothes that Thalia had scattered on the floor in her anger.

"Here, let me help you with that."

Annabeth looked up and saw Rachel, bending over to pick up a white t-shirt. She carefully folded it and handed it to Annabeth, who placed it in the Goodwill bag.

"Thanks," she replied. The two girls worked in silence for a few minutes, neither of them entirely sure what to say. "So," Annabeth began, "What do you think made Katie run off?"

Rachel paused for a second, pondering Annabeth's question. "Well, I'm not entirely sure . . . but one thing is for sure, the picture of Percy must have reminded her of something, or someone. I'm not too sure if she can't remember everything either . . ." she trailed off.

Annabeth stared at Rachel. "I think that that sounds realistic. But if we don't find her, we'll never know for sure . . ."

"True," Rachel agreed. "But even if we do find her, I'm not so certain if she would tell us anything. Here's the bag," she said, handing it to Annabeth.

With that Rachel stood up and wandered off to the rest of the group, leaving Annabeth to her thoughts.

---

Connor pushed the boards aside for Clarisse to enter. Clarisse stood in the hotel lobby, waiting for him to close off the hole again.

"Are you ready to deliver the bad news?" she inquired with a grimace on her face.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose."

Clarisse braced herself, heading down the basement stairs.

"We're here!" Connor shouted.

The ImPercinators all headed to the main room. Connor squirmed in his shoes when he saw their faces of disappointment. Everyone had hoped for them to return with Katie.

Thalia entered the main room last, cool and collected. "So I take it that you didn't find her then?" she asked rhetorically.

"We looked everywhere in the park, but . . ." Clarisse trailed off.

Thalia stared at her with her electric blue eyes. "Well, then there obviously is some reason as to why she doesn't want to be found."

---

Katie Gardner rushed through Central Park. She stopped on a sidewalk with her hands on her knees, panting. After a few minutes, she regained an upright position and checked her surroundings. She had to make sure that she wasn't being followed . . .

---

A/N: Thanks to my beta, Kaleidoscope Flowers and to my reviewers: Happyfish, Lightning Titan, sweetyamiyugigirl, I love sea green, Athenas Daughter42898, Legolas Thranduilion, C a i s h a L e a, and Colorful Catastrophe! Thanks for your feedback!


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the long gap between chapters...I need to be more proactive on writing, and less lazy haha. Please R&R of course! Oh just one more thing, if you want me to respond to a review, then don't be an anonymous reviewer!

---

_A__nd if everything is measured by the hole it leaves behind  
then this mountain has been leveled  
and there's no more diamonds in the mine.  
Go on now just leave it  
the timing wasn't right  
and the force that swept us both away  
was too strong for us to fight._

_Fantasy Man you are always one step ahead of me._  
_Well I never heard the warning_  
_I haven't got things right._  
_Yet the sun came out this morning_  
_and filled my room with light._

_S__o go on now, you are forgiven  
let's put it down to life,  
the story of two lovers  
who danced both edges of the knife._

_Fantasy Man ~ The Swell S__eason_

---

"This is ridiculous!" shouted Connor, shaking his fist at the television set.

By now, all of the ImPercinators had heard about Annabeth and Thalia's daring escapade earlier that day. However, their adventure was now all over the news: "Crazed Girls Cause Mass Traffic Jam on 3rd Avenue." Fortunately, due to the wigs, the public had not realized that the all of the chaos was caused by that "crazed" rebel group.

Thalia rolled her eyes with a huff. "Of course they leave out the part with the Cyclops. Naturally."

Everyone was gathered in the main room, eyes glued on the evening news.

Annabeth sat on the couch, her fingers combing through the brunette wig that was lying like a mop on her lap. They would have to buy new wigs since the "crazed girls" were a blonde and a brunette.

"Just because the public doesn't know who really caused all of the traffic doesn't mean that the Titans don't," stated Rachel.

Everyone turned to look at her.

She squirmed in her chair, feeling uncomfortable with everyone's eyes on her. "I…I mean the Cyclops obviously had to know who you were otherwise, why would he be chasing you?"

Thalia nodded her head in agreement. "You're right. I'm pretty sure that by now, Kronos' underlings have gotten the whole report from the Cyclops, who was probably sent on some sort of mission to track us down. Annabeth and I were lucky."

No one ever saw Kronos in the public eye. Thalia supposed that he spent his days in Mount Othrys up to no good. At least, she mused, he was far away from the city.

"We need to lie low for a while, okay guys?" Thalia stated. "I don't want any more close calls."

Everyone murmured in agreement. It had certainly been a hellish day, to say the least.

---

Thalia was in the kitchen, attempting to open a can of Chef Boyardee with a rusty can opener. It wasn't really working. She sat the can down on the counter and glared at it, frustrated.

Annabeth walked into the kitchen and saw Thalia moping at the table. "What's wrong Thalia?"

"I can't open this stupid can!" she shouted.

Annabeth took in the situation. Thalia was clearly still venting about the Cyclops. Annabeth silently picked up the can and, with some effort, opened it. She then proceeded to scoop out the contents into a worn pot. She placed everything on the kerosene stove and got it cooking as Thalia forlornly watched.

"Thanks," she said, letting out a sigh.

"You're welcome," replied Annabeth. "I know that you're still angry about today, but its okay. Everything and everyone is okay, alright?" Annabeth sat across from Thalia at the table.

Thalia glanced up at her. "Why, aren't you the optimistic one then?" she said sarcastically, with a hint of bitterness.

Annabeth frowned. "Why do you say that like it's a bad thing?"

"Because it's not realistic. Things aren't just going to go back to the way they were before, got it?"

Visibly hurt, Annabeth silently stood up and left the room, leaving Thalia sitting alone at the table.

---

Stung. That's the way that Annabeth felt. She felt as if she had been stung by angry hornets over and over again in her weak spots. Thalia certainly knew how to lower her morale, even though Annabeth was only trying to console her.

_Maybe she was right_, Annabeth thought, sinking down on her sleeping bag. What had the ImPercinators really completed these three years anyways? Not much. All they ever really did was annoy Kronos' minions with Greek fire. Sullenly, Annabeth realized that Thalia was probably right. She was far too optimistic. Defeated, Annabeth curled up into a ball on her sleeping bag.

---

Thalia sat drumming her fingers on the table. She felt guilty. She hadn't really _meant_ to hurt Annabeth; she was just in a sour mood, that's all. Albeit, her sour moods occurred more frequently, but, she was, this time, truly sorry. But then again, how could things go back to the way they were? The ImPercinators had a very slim chance of accomplishing anything. Their morale was low; Percy and so many others were gone, not to mention the gods had either turned away from Olympus or were imprisoned. With a sigh, Thalia got up from the table and checked on dinner.

She stirred the canned noodles with a spoon and, when making sure it was hot enough, rallied everyone to the kitchen. "Hey guys!" she shouted, "Food's ready!"

Thalia got out Dixie cups and spoons for them to eat with as Connor came bounding into the room; eating was one of his favorite pastimes, besides mischief, that is. Thalia grinned in spite of herself; Connor's attitude was infectious.

One by one, everyone meandered to the main room, Annabeth came out last, her eyes red and face puffy. Thalia cringed, feeling guilty again. She was distracted, however, by Nico.

"Chef Boyardee again?" he complained. "Oh come on!"

Thalia raised her eyebrows at him. "If you don't like it, then don't eat it. Simple."

"Well, _sorry_," Nico said, annoyed. "It's just that we've eaten this stuff every night this week!"

Thalia prepared for the rebuttal, but was interrupted by Connor. "Relax Thalia, I can scavenge up something else if people are tired of Chef Boyardee," he said, slinging his arm around Thalia's shoulders. She angrily shrugged his arm away. "Oh right, I forgot that whole 'no men' thing," he teased.

Thalia rolled her eyes in annoyance at Connor and walked away.

"Since when did she become such an uptight sourpuss?" asked Nico, gesturing in Thalia's direction.

"Well, I'd reckon about three years ago," answered Connor.

---

Rachel studied Annabeth. She had been picking up on some weird vibes tonight. Thalia was sulky as well. Rachel sat between the two of them on the couch. No one said anything.

"Alright guys, what's going on?" inquired Rachel, attempting to break the awkward silence, even though she already had an inkling about what the problem was.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" said Thalia.

Rachel raised her eyebrows. "Don't play dumb with me. I know that there's some sort of disagreement between you two."

Thalia turned her head away, uncooperative. Annabeth folded her arms across her chest. "Okay fine. Be like that," stated Rachel as she got up, leaving the two girls were alone on the couch to talk it out.

Thalia glanced at Annabeth, who was determinedly staring away from her. However, her face wavered, and she looked at Thalia.

"I'm sorry," said Thalia with sincerity.

"For what?" asked Annabeth, trying to get an explanation.

Thalia let out a huff. "For being a jerk to you. I really am sorry, okay?"

"I forgive you," said Annabeth simply. The mood in the basement became a lot more tolerable.

---

That night, everyone went to bed early, except for Rachel. She sat at the kitchen table, alone, staring at her sketch pad. She flipped it open to the very beginning, examining all of her bizarre dream sketches, attempting to find some sort of correlation between all of them.

There was one of a burning forest; that was Camp Half Blood. Another one depicted a bloody bathtub; that was the Ophiotaurus. But what about the one of Percy? She had no idea what that one was about at all. Sighing, she rubbed her hands against her temples, trying to erase all of those bad memories.

With a wince, Rachel remembered those first few days after the demigods lost. They had been filled with uncertainty and dread. This is why Rachel didn't like to sleep. In her dreams, her worst fears were replayed over and over again in her mind, and she could do nothing about it.

---

_Rachel shakily removed her hand from her forehead and brought it up to her face. She blinked, taking in the scarlet blood. She was bleeding. Unsteadily, Rachel raised herself to a standing position, leaning against a stone column. She must have blacked out. She wracked her brain, but as far as she could remember, she was just with Hestia, who was nowhere to be seen. _

_Confused, Rachel took in the rest of her surroundings. It was evening and she was alone, in some sort of courtyard. It was eerily quiet. Disconcerted, she carefully made her way through the rest of Olympus, attempting to find someone, anyone. _

_Rachel kept her ears attuned to her surroundings and heard a girl quietly crying off in the distance. Following her ears, she came upon Katie Gardner, who was curled up in a ball in Olympus' vacant throne room. Apprehensively, Rachel crept towards Katie. _

_She lifted her tear-streaked face at Rachel and told her, very quietly, in a monotone voice, "Go away."_

_Confused, Rachel replied, "It's okay, Katie. Let me help you."_

"_No," she said, louder this time. "Go away, now." _

_Rachel knelt down next to the distraught girl and reached out a hand, which Katie promptly swatted away. _

"_Leave," said Katie, "before it is too late."_

_Rachel wasn't quite sure what to do. "Come with me," she offered._

"_No. I can't. Go away!" she screamed shrilly._

_Frightened, Rachel backed up, away from the mad girl. She scrambled to her feet and ran away, down a dim hallway. She leaned against a stone wall, feeling dizzy. Rachel jumped with a start when, in the distance, she heard Katie scream. _

_With her heart pounding in her ears, Rachel spun around to go help Katie when she tripped and fell. She landed on something soft. Rachel placed her hands on it for leverage. It was wet. With trembling hands, she took in her surroundings. She had just landed on the body of Travis Stoll. _

---

Of course, I want to thank my beta Kaleidoscope Flowers and my reviewers: Stefaanyxo99, Kahlan the Dream Spirit, Firey Son of Hades, xNereikax, Kanae Valentine, Beat mo1327, dessers6, acarroll341, Happyfish, Wings of a Faerie, SquishyChknXD, I love sea green, Percabeth616, Legolas Thranduilion, alexxxpac3, ...123, and I-Set-My-Pants-on-Fire.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hmm...for some reason, all of my little lines to show that the scene has changed have vanished...I don't know why that happened...sorry for that! I feel like this is getting a bit redundant…but please R&R! CC is also a very good thing!

_Under the water she sang a story  
Of losing her lover  
She calls a warning_

_Love, you are foolish, you're tired_  
_Your sleeplessness makes you a liar_  
_The city is burning_  
_The ocean is turning_  
_Our only chance is the lighthouse_

_Her lover was a sailor_  
_She went and she waited there_  
_The door locked from the outside_  
_Lover never arrived so she sings there_  
_Soft as a siren luring the ships off their course, how alarming_

_The Hush Sound ~ Lighthouse _

Connor entered the basement with a huge grin on his face. He was accompanied by Nico and Chris. They were carrying bags of contraband goods from Duane Reade. They placed them on the table. It had been about a week since Thalia and Annabeth's escapade.

"Wow, you guys certainly went all out, didn't you?" Thalia said while looking through the bags. She had a less than amused look on her face when she held up a 6-pack of beer. "What is this Connor?"

"What?" he said, feigning innocence. "It's just beer, you know an alcoholic beverage? But then again, you probably wouldn't know since you were turned into a tree. What a pity," he said, tossing a beer to her.

Surprised, she caught it, but not before glaring at Connor. Nico and Chris cracked up in the background. "I'm under age," she said pointedly.

"No you're not, not really anyways. Drink up!"

Hesitantly, Thalia cracked open the can and cautiously took a sip. She made a face. "This is disgusting!"

"I'll take it then," said Nico eagerly.

"Oh no you won't," proclaimed Grover, who just entered the main room and snatched the beer out of Thalia's hands. He then proceeded to dump it in the sink.

"Hey!" shouted Connor, "Way to be a party pooper! Besides, I paid for those!" he said indignantly.

"No you didn't," said Nico, who winced as Connor elbowed him in the ribs.

"That's besides the point," said Connor. "Here Grover, I know that you like cans, but you have to drink the beer first." He tossed him another can.

"Fine, fine." said Grover. "But no beer for Rachel, or Annabeth."

"Okay," replied Connor. "Scout's honor!"

Thalia rolled her eyes at him as Grover walked away to fish the empty can out of the garbage.

Half an hour later, Connor, Nico, Chris, and Thalia were on their third beers.

Connor squinted into the bottom of his can and turned it upside down, trying to see if there were any drops left inside. It was empty. He reached for another, but came up empty. "Drat, we're out."

"I'll go get more," Thalia volunteered. Her words were starting to slur together a little bit. Rachel, Annabeth, and Grover were smartly avoiding the situation in the other room.

"I'll go with her," said Nico.

"Okay, let's go," said Thalia.

The duo left the hotel and went out into the streets. It was late evening now; there were few people on the streets, which, these days, wasn't quite that unusual anymore. Nighttime was dangerous; there were always vindictive monsters lurking around. Remembering this, Thalia rubbed her bracelet for reassurance. Suddenly, she halted in her tracks.

"What's wrong?" inquired Nico.

"I don't have any from of ID, in fact, legally, I don't really have an exact idea of how old I really am…I suppose I'm 16…" she rambled on.

Nico burst out laughing. "Wait, you thought that we were actually going to buy booze? You're funny!" He cracked up again.

"Then how are we going to get it?"

Nico looked at her incredulously, "Steal it, of course," he replied as if this was the only logical explanation.

"Looks like someone's been spending too much time with Connor lately," Thalia mumbled under her breath.

"Hey! I heard that!" he said with a grin. He sloped an arm over her shoulders and the two clumsily headed towards the nearest Duane Reade.

The convenience store was locked up for the night.

"How are we gonna get in?" asked Thalia.

"Easily," replied Nico. "We'll shadow travel."

Before Thalia could protest, he grabbed her hand. She squeezed her eyes shut in fear. She felt wind around her and then it was over. Opening her eyes, she found herself in a dark, deserted Duane Reade.

Thalia had an epiphany. "So _this_ is why Connor always wants you to go with him on his raiding missions."

"Yep," Nico replied with a grin. "Precisely."

Thalia scanned the store looking for beer. It was located on the top shelf in the refrigerated section. She carefully walked open to the glass doors, so as not to set off any alarms. Nico followed right behind her. Thalia stood on her tiptoes to reach for the drinks, but she was too short. A blush spread on her face when she felt Nico's presence. He was standing right behind her.

"Here, I'll get it for you," he said.

Thalia turned around and blushed even further. He was so close to her. Thalia blinked; she didn't remember him to be so tall. She then realized that he was 16 now, technically older than her.

He reached up and grabbed the beers, handing them to her. "Here," he murmured.

"Thanks," she looked up into his eyes. Big mistake. He had nice eyes; they were a deep chocolaty brown. Her face betrayed her and she blushed again.

Nico studied her face, trying to grasp her emotions. Hesitantly, he leaned down and kissed her on the mouth.

Thalia did not see that coming. She placed her hands on his chest – and roughly shoved him away. "What the heck was that for?!" she yelled.

Nico stumbled away. "S-sorry. But, I thought that--"

"Well you thought wrong!" she said and angrily stomped off. She set off the motion detectors by the entrance. Surprised, Thalia jumped and dropped the 6-pack on the floor, causing the cans to burst open and their contents to leak out into an amber puddle. She angrily yanked open the door and ran out, leaving Nico behind her.

Nico was standing in shock. He had no intention of ever attempting to talk to Thalia ever again. He was extremely stupid and made a fool of himself. Yeah, he had had a crush on Thalia for the longest time, but, apparently, that didn't mean that she liked him back. He remembered meeting her in Maine, near his old boarding school, and was thoroughly impressed by her spunkiness. But, since she decided to join Artemis' ranks, it put a damper on things. But now, with no gods around, he thought that the "eternal maidenhood thing" wasn't important anymore. Apparently not.

Suddenly, he came to his senses when he heard the sound of approaching sirens. Startled, he ran out of the store out into the streets. He didn't stop running until he reached Central Park. Panting, he put his heads behind his neck to catch his breath. He collapsed onto a park bench.

Ever since the fall of the gods, Nico's senses had been off. For instance, he could no longer sense when people died or summon the dead. This was, at times, a very good thing. However, when asked if Percy and others were still alive, he couldn't respond. He hadn't the faintest idea as to why this was. He supposed that the Underworld was now taken over by the Titans. He never liked to brood over these things. But sometimes he wondered.

Nico's head perked up. He sensed that something was wrong. A putrid smell entered his nostrils. He crinkled his nose in disgust. Spinning around, Nico realized with horror that there was a Laistrygonian behind him. He was unarmed.

"Crap," he muttered before breaking into a run. He had no idea where he was going, but he was certainly getting the hell out of Central Park. He was off to a good start; the cannibals were rather large, so the monster slowly lumbered behind him. Nico thought that he had gotten away until he ran smack into another one. Now there were two.

The wind was knocked out of him. Dazed, he slowly sat up, weighing his options. However, his thought process was cut short when the Laistrygonian picked him up by the front of his shirt. The monster laughed in his face, causing Nico to cringe. It had horrible breath.

"Stupid demigod," it laughed.

Angrily, Nico thrashed in its grasp, swinging his legs around to send a solid kick to its stomach. However, the impact was not as he desired, and the monster only grunted.

Panicked, Nico aimed another kick at its groin. This time, the Laistrygonian emitted a howl of pain and dropped him.

Nico landed with a grunt. Quickly, he scrambled to his feet again.

Nico screamed when he felt a searing pain rip through his shoulder. The other Laistrygonian had caught up with him. Shakily, he placed a hand on his shoulder. It was covered in blood.

The monster spit on him. "Icky," it said. "Tastes like a corpse."

Nico broke out into a run again, barreling past the Laistrygonians. Once he had gotten about 100 feet away, Nico used the last of his strength and shadow traveled back to the entrance of the hotel.

Thalia was furious. How dare he do that to her! She was a huntress of Artemis for gods' sake! Cautiously, she placed a finger to her lips. They didn't _feel_ any different, but she still felt uneasy.

That had been her first kiss. Thalia remembered wishing that Luke would kiss her, but she had long since quashed those feelings when she realized that he had turned to Kronos' side.

But then again, no one knew where Artemis had gone. So what did that mean about her maidenhood? Thalia wondered if a god could die. Would they just go to Tartarus? She had absolutely no idea. The only thing that she did know for certain was that when the demigods were losing against the Titans at Mount Olympus, the gods were losing against Hyperion.

Confused, Thalia headed back towards the ImPercinators' hideout. When she reached the entrance, she encountered a figure lying on the sidewalk. She mused that it must be some homeless person or a drunk. But, on closer inspection, she realized that it was Nico.

Alarmed, Thalia rushed towards him and knelt down next to him. He was unconscious and bleeding. Putting aside her anger towards him, she rushed into the hotel to get help.

_Thalia was trapped under a stone column. She told everyone that she would be okay and to go on without her, but she was in excruciating pain. She squirmed under the column, attempting to move her leg, but to no avail. Thalia knew that the bone had to be crushed. She felt weak and helpless, which made her very uncomfortable. _

_Thalia laid still for several minutes, trying to catch her breath and then tried to move her leg again. She cried out in pain. Her efforts were fruitless. Exhausted, she blacked out._

_When she awoke, it was twilight. She propped herself up on her elbows and cocked her ears. It was deserted. Thalia felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. _

_Suddenly, she heard footsteps behind her. She looked up and saw Luke above her._

"_Well, well, look who we have here."_

_Thalia stiffened. Chills ran down her spine. His voice was deep and menacing; it was Kronos. _

"_What do you want?" She had meant that to sound intimidating, but instead, her voice came out in pained breaths._

"_Nothing," he replied. "I have everything that I want."_

_Thalia's eyes widened in fear. "Luke…" she whispered. "Don't do this."_

_Kronos looked at her with a humored expression on his face and walked away, laughing, leaving Thalia trapped and alone._

Thanks to my beta Kaleidoscope Flowers and to my reviewers: ...123, EagleCodex, Karate Chic, 101warriorsrox, Stefaanyxo99, Seaqueen9, niceman, u is not as cool as me, Beat mo1327, Kahlan the Dream Spirit, XxVioletSorrowPercabethxX, kittyxx92, and Stinkyacorn!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Another chapter (finally)! Sorry about that! There were email complications and I just acquired a nasty Computer virus! Hurrah…Anyways, if anyone sends me a review with what they think that any of the song lyrics mean in my story then they get…brownie points or something. So R&R!

_In the dark I can't fight it til it disappears  
But in the daylight  
I taste you in my tears_

And now the party's over,  
And every body's gone  
I'm left here with myself and I wonder what went wrong  
And now my heart is broken  
Like the bottles on the floor  
Does it really matter?  
Or am I just hung over you?

Now I've got myself looking like a mess  
Standing alone  
Here at the end try to pretend but no,  
I put up my fight  
But this is it this time (this time)  
Cuz' I'm here at the end, tryin to pretend  
Here at the end, tryin to pretend  
Oh, ohhh  
Hung Over ~ Ke$ha 

__  
The War Counsel was serious business. All of the senior counselors from all of the twelve cabins were gathered in the rec room around a Ping-Pong table. Clarisse was sitting next to Silena, who was across from Katie. Ironically, Katie was seated next to Percy, Olympus' "Little Hero."

Katie had had years of practice of keeping her composure around the other demigods, but she wasn't so sure about Silena's ability. Yeah, it sucked having your boyfriend killed by your "allies," but it was all for a meaningful purpose, wasn't it? She shot Silena a warning look, but the distressed girl was too busy sobbing into Clarisse's shoulder to pay any notice.

Next to Katie, Percy spoke up, mentioning the spy. Inwardly, Katie stiffened when Silena simultaneously began to sob louder.

"I would think that the spy might be someone from the Hermes cabin, you know, one of Luke's siblings," Katie said, trying to shift the attention away from Silena.

The Stoll brothers began arguing with Katie. She rolled her eyes. They were so juvenile. Besides, she had more important things to worry about, like how to keep Silena from blowing their cover. After all, there was more than one spy.

Katie tucked her hair behind her ears and thoughtfully glanced at her silver charm bracelet, the one with a silver scythe charm that was identical to Silena's.

Thalia was pissed off and feeling slightly hung over. She swallowed and grimaced. Things had certainly taken a turn for the worst last night. It was still early, however, and no one else was awake yet. Thalia shuffled into the bathroom to brush her teeth and to rid her mouth of her morning breath. No way in hell was she ever drinking again.

Thalia gripped the basin of the sink and squinted into the mirror. She had never been one of those superficial girls who cared about their appearance but, this morning, Thalia had to admit, she wasn't looking so hot. She frowned, taking in the large purplish bags under her eyes due to a lack of sleep.

Absentmindedly, she wondered how Nico was doing. He had certainly had a hellish night which was partly her fault, Thalia reasoned guiltily. Maybe if she hadn't stormed out on him so fast and was able to control her raging temper, then perhaps he wouldn't be laying on the couch right now with a bloody shoulder and a raging fever. The ImPercinators didn't exactly have the sort of medicine that Nico needed to ward off the threat of a looming infection. Thalia chewed her lip worriedly.

She wasn't so sure if she was really mad at Nico after all of that. His romantic advance had been…surprising, but she shouldn't have overreacted.

It seemed like being a hunter of Artemis had really complicated things for her. At the time, it had been necessary to promise herself to Artemis. It had been the only logical thing to do. After all, she was had been about to turn sixteen…the age of the prophecy.

But was she even really sixteen? Getting turned into a pine tree had certainly…changed things. She remembered the vow. I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt. Simple words, really.

But in reality, Thalia had bonded herself into an eternal future of loneliness. Maybe, if she wasn't a huntress, she would have been able to interpret Nico's feelings for her sooner…but, let's face it, Thalia knew next to nothing about the opposite sex, besides the obvious fact that they were no good and should be avoided at all costs.

Someone was knocking on the bathroom door. "What?" Thalia said, snapped out of her reverie.

"I have to pee real bad!" It was Connor. Thalia rolled her eyes. "Hold on a sec." She opened up the bathroom door and had to jump aside just as Connor barreled past her and shut the door. Thalia did have to admit that as much as Connor tended to annoy her with his antics, he kept things amusing and lightened the mood in times of sadness.

Katie Gardner was a bad person. She was sure of it. She just couldn't stand to be around all of…them again. They were all so good and she wasn't. How on earth was she supposed to face them again, after all she did?

But, then again, they had no idea about what had happened to her these past three years. So, technically she could have stayed and pretended to be one of them…but she just couldn't.

Katie stared down at her chest. She was still wearing that girl's t-shirt that was emblazoned with some punk-ish band on it. Green Day. That was the name of the band. She felt like she should know exactly who that band was and the name of the girl who owned the shirt but, for some reason, she just couldn't remember.

Of course, Katie remembered Luke quite clearly. Before everything had happened, she used to be quite smitten with him, just like nearly all of the female population in Camp Half-Blood. She recalled with a blush his cerulean blue eyes and side-swept blond hair that fell just so on his forehead.

She had even believed him too, what a fool she was. All of those late night rendezvous really had ulterior motives to them, as it turned out. What could she do but agree with him? He was so…enticing and convincing. How could she not believe him?

Albeit, her feathers got ruffled when she found out that he was also canoodling with that Silena girl. But, Luke, once again, convinced Katie to just go with it and work with her. So, naturally, she did.

But then, Luke left once the camp found out his true intentions. But not before he gave Katie and Silena matching silver charm bracelets so that they could stay in touch with him about the going-ons in camp.

Absentmindedly, Katie looked down at her wrist. Why was she still wearing that thing? Angrily, she stopped by a trash can and wrestled with the clasp, yanking it off of her wrist. In an angry rage, she held it aloft in her hand and dropped it. It landed with a satisfying thunk. Good riddance.

Thalia decided to cook pancakes for breakfast. For some reason, cooking always helped her to relax. That struck her as odd, however, because cooking was what complacent housewives did, and Thalia was anything but.

She stirred the batter in a small silver bowl with a rubber whisk. Dipping her finger in the batter to taste it, Thalia felt like it was missing something. Chocolate chips. Those were the best kind of pancakes. But unfortunately, she didn't have any. They would just have to make do. Vaguely, Thalia remembered how her mother used to make her pancakes before…things got bad. She ladled the first few pancakes on the skillet and heard them sizzle.

While they were cooking, Thalia got out the thermometer to take Nico's temperature. He was still asleep on the couch. Hesitantly, she headed over to him, feeling awkward. It felt like she was intruding on something. Shaking off her unease, Thalia stuck the thermometer under his armpit. Thank goodness he was wearing a tank top undershirt. Nico stirred slightly in his sleep but didn't wake up.

After a few seconds, Thalia heard the finished beep of the thermometer. Thalia frowned. 103.4. That was almost a degree higher than last time she took his temperature. She had to get him some medicine, a fever reducer perhaps.

Thalia sighed and glanced at Nico's face. He looked surprisingly peaceful despite the thin sheen of sweat on his forehead. At least he was getting adequate sleep, she mused.

Behind her, Connor emerged from the bathroom and crinkled his nose. "Um, Thalia…I think your pancakes are burning!"

"Oh crap!" Thalia rushed over and was dismayed to see charcoal pancakes in the skillet. Dismayed, she scraped them into the garbage and began cooking a fresh batch.

Everyone was feasting on pancakes. Connor cautiously poked at his heaping stack with a fork. "These aren't burned, are they?" he inquired with jest.

"What do you think?" Thalia countered with a hint of amusement.

Connor chuckled and began shoveling pancakes into his mouth. Thalia laughed in spite of herself.

"You know," said Annabeth, who was seated across from Thalia, "These really are quite good!"

"Thanks," replied Thalia. At least this had turned out right. "Do you think that we should wake up Nico and give him some breakfast?"

Rachel frowned. "I'm not so sure if that's a good idea. His body's probably trying to sleep off the fever.

"Oh. Okay then. Also, I was thinking, we should try to get Nico some medicine. Something to reduce his fever would be good."

"We don't really have much money…" Rachel trailed off, finding it slightly unethical to steal medicine.

"But Nico needs this," said Thalia.

Rachel's brow furrowed. "Well, I suppose it couldn't really hurt…"

"Okay!" Connor exclaimed, visibly excited to go on another "mission." "I'll go with you!"

"Okay Connor," Thalia said with a grin. "How was I supposed to know that you would be the first one to volunteer?"

The duo headed toward the nearest Duane Reade. Thalia exhaled, feeling a little nervous.

Connor glanced at her. "No matter what, don't show your nerves. Just act casual, so that no one will be suspicious." They were at the entrance. "Just follow my lead," Connor said with a wink and pulled open the door. Thalia took a deep breath and followed him in.

The drug store was relatively busy. There was about a total of ten customers in the store, not including Thalia and Connor. She obediently followed Connor to the section that carried medicine. They glanced up at the shelves.

Connor reached up and grabbed a bottle of aspirin. "Will this do?" he inquired.  
"Yeah that's fine. How about some sort of antibiotic, just in case."

"Okay," Connor scanned the shelves again and grabbed another bottle. Thalia shook her head in tacit agreement. She turned her head away from Connor as he discreetly pocketed the bottles.

"Alright, now we just walk out, make sure that you break into a run though as soon as we get out there. This is why I like to bring Nico, for easy exits. Oh, and make sure you keep your head down so that the cameras don't catch your face," he added as an afterthought.

Thalia felt her heart rate quicken as she followed Connor to the exit with her head bowed. She heard the alarms go off, a blaringly obnoxious noise. In front of her, Connor broke into a run; Thalia followed suit.

The streets went by in a blur as the duo ran through the streets. They ended up running through Central Park.  
Suddenly, several things happened at once. Thalia, just for a moment, glanced behind her to make sure that they weren't being followed and ran smack into a girl. They both wound up on the ground.

"S-sorry," said Thalia scrambling to her feet. She helped the girl to her feet. The girl was wearing a black Green Day t-shirt, just like the one that Katie had been wearing…Thalia looked into the girl's startled eyes.

It was Katie. "Well, this certainly changes things," Thalia remarked.

A/N: Once again, thanks to my beta Kaleidoscope Flowers who puts up with my careless mistakes and to my lovely reviewers: Stefaanyxo99, XxVioletSorrowPercabethxX, ..123, Stinkyacorn, MythScavenger, Beat mo1327, thehockeyfan, Kahlan the Dream Spirit, StarofCalamity, tonycat623, white water1, and bubzchoc!


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